Iraqi PM calls for dialogue after surviving assassination attempt

The assassination attempt came amid protests by followers of political parties rejecting last month’s election results…reports Asian Lite News

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday criticized an assassination attempt carried out by a drone targeting his official residence and called for a calm dialogue among all Iraqis for the future of the country.

Al-Kadhimi confirmed in a video posted on his official Twitter page that he and other workers at his residence are safe, stressing that “cowardly missiles and cowardly drones do not build a homeland or a future (for the country), and we are working to build our homeland by respecting the state and its institutions and creating a better future for all Iraqis”, reports Xinhua news agency.

“I call on all parties to resort to calm dialogue to build Iraq and its future,” al-Kadhimi said in his speech, which was also aired by the official Iraqiya channel.

At dawn, al-Kadhimi escaped unhurt an assassination attempt by a booby-trapped drone that landed on his residence in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses some of the main offices of the Iraqi government and foreign embassies.

The assassination attempt came amid protests by followers of political parties rejecting last month’s election results.

On November 5, the protests developed to a clash with the security forces at the entrances of the Green Zone, which led to the killing of two protesters and the wounding of dozens of security members and protesters.

In the parliamentary elections on October 10, the Sadrist Movement, led by prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took the lead with more than 70 seats, while the al-Fatah (Conquest) Coalition garnered 17 seats compared with 47 in the 2018 elections.

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Political parties unsatisfied with the results said the elections were manipulated and that they would not accept the “fabricated results”.

Followers of the political parties rejecting the election results took to the streets in many cities, including the capital Baghdad, when the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission is still considering the appeals and complaints submitted by the political parties.